3 years ago my friend Zeljko Hajsok started a street performing festival in Split, Croatia called Street Talks. Zeljko is himself a circus performer and started the festival out of love for street arts.
This year was to be the 4th edition, but about a month ago he got news from someone in the city cultural department that his festival had been given to the mayors best mate to organize !! This man and his company Karaman Koncert completely stole the concept of the festival including the name and he even used a list of acts that my agency had supplied to another festival !! He then submitted his own application to the city and low and behold he got the gig.
This is not the only cultural event in Split that this person is now in control of, in total he has taken over 4 events ! Both the mayor Kerum and this Karaman are the subject of much speculation in the press with their dodgy dealings.
The shit is really starting to hit the fan down there and it looks like there will be some federal government intervention.

So why am I telling you this ?
Because I as well as several other performers and festival organizers have already been approached by this thief and people working with him. Oviously he has no idea how to organize a street performing festival and is looking for people to help. So far, we have all turned him down.
I ask of you all, please, if you are contacted to work at Street Talks in Split, Croatia in late June by anyone other than Zeljko Hajsok, please think about how you would feel if someone stole something that you worked so hard to create, and refuse the offer !
If you do decide to work with them, you will be working for some of the most corrupt dishonest people in this country. A country where a contract doesn't mean squat !!

Martin,
I can't understand half the sh** you say most of the time but I know you mean well so it's all good.
Gav,
I got ya back that some bull sh** steeling that man's festival I don't know em but I take your word for it. I'm always willing to support a fellow Street performer with a passion for the art of street theater....

It's great that all you guys have voiced support.
It gives me no pleasure to announce that Pane Temov is working in conjunction with the man that stole this festival away from Željko in Split.
Very disappointing !!!!

I strongly suggest that if you know any of the acts that are on the list for Split at the following website, you should warn them that they are heading into a bad situation.http://www.buskerfestmakedonija.com/

I would also like to say it is a good idea to boycott Buskerfest Macedonia and all of Pane Temov's evil creations. I got kicked off the tour last year after two weeks work and was not paid for it. The man is a loony, swearing and shouting at me for asking for some food.

I am not the only one, not even the last in a long list who this has happened too. Last year this happened to three groups. The local performers agreed with me that this was not just but they knew the man and said they had to work.

I recently had a bad experience with Pane and will never work the Macedonia Busker Festival or with Pane.

I was invited and confirmed to the Festival, I got the invite, I confirmed 100% and got a response back that I was a lock in 100%, this was back in December. I was told that I would receive paperwork in January.
I was very excited to be a part of this festival and would be over there with some other friends and it was going to be really fun!

Well, by the first week of February I had not received paperwork and I heard some of the other artists had, so I wrote to Pane to check in on my paperwork and got the really LAME response back that he had not heard from me in a while and assumed I no longer wanted to be a part, so cancelled me and invited someone else.....

WTF?!?!?

Where would that come from, since I had confirmed and he confirmed me just back in December and a promise to get paperwork in January that never came.

I called him on his bull, I copied him in on HIS responses saying I am confirmed 100% and to count on it 100% that I was to be there and invited.

he responded that I did not need to write him what he wrote as he knows what he wrote....

If that is the case, he should have remembered that I had confirmed and so had he.

He said, the money for my part was now spent on another act and he was sorry.

The honorable thing to do, would be to hold his commitment and invitation or at least try to work with me and see if there was some solution to come up with to see if we could still make it work.

It was all handled VERY unprofessionally and again, I will NEVER work with Pane after how I was treated...

I am rarely one to rant on anyone, most of you know that, but I am still pissed off at this, even two weeks later.

I have never done the festival, have met Pane once in Canada and he seemed a nice guy.

A few years ago he applied and was one of the first booked for the Auckland (NZ) buskers festival months before it all started. Then literally days before the event started he phoned (or emailed ( not sure which)) the office and said he wasn't coming.
I was pissed off and had to find another act in a hurry, I emailed him and got no reply,,,,

that's my 2c worth anyway,,

it was a shame 'cos he seemed a top chipper chap ( and has a great act) then let me down,